Floating deck



April 17. 1928.

' A. M. GRIFFIN FLOATING DECK Filed Sept. 2'7. 1926 Patented Apr. 17,1928.

UNITED STATES 1,666,416 PATENT OFFICE.

ALVAH M. GRIFFIN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORTO UNIVERSAL HOLD-ING COMPANY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FLOATING DECK.

Application filed September 27, 1926. Serial No. 137,940.

This invention relates to a floating deck, and refers particularly to aseal for a floating deck of the kind employed upon oil tanks.

An object of the present invention is to provide a floating deck with anexceptionally etficient and satisfactory seal.

In the use of floating decks upon oil tanks, it is desirable toseal thespace between the tank wall and the outer periphery of the floatingdeck. Hitherto, various seals hay e been employed for this purpose butnone of said seals have entirely eliminated the escape of oil vaporsaround the seal. In accordance with the present invention, I provide thefloating deck with curved sealing plates pivoted at their upper ends tothe floating deck and extending outwardly into engagement with the tankwalls. Said sealing plates thus have their lower swinging end extendingdown within the oil supporting the deck. Moreover, the seals of thepresent invention have their edges interfitting and packed together soas to effectively eliminate any leakage. In order to secure positiveengagement between the seals and the tank wall and also in order that.the seals ma assist in centering the floating deck of t e tank, theseals are provided with,

spring means urging the seals into engagement with the tank walls.

' Various further features of the present invention will appear from adescription of a preferred form of seal for a floating deck embodyingthe invention. For this purpose, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of vided with a floating deck,

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmental vertical section of the floating deckand tank disclosing the seal construction and its engagement with thetank wall,

Figure 3 is a developed view of part of the seal construction, I

Figure 4. is a section on the line H of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a modified form of sealconstruction, and,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section of the sealing plates.

Referring to the drawings, 2 indicates a tank provided with a floatingdeck 3. The

a tank profloating deck may be of any desired form of construction, theparticular form of the floating deck not being an essential feature ofthe present invention. The floating deck 3 is provided with a pluralityof sealing plates and 5, of which 4 are termed inside plates and 5outside plates. Said sealing plates are supported at their upper ends 6by the outer wall of the floating deck 3, having their upper end bent atright angles as indicated at 7 to provide for engagement therewith. Overthevupper ends of the sealing plates are placed caps 8 for reenforcingsuch portion of the seal. The sealing plates are bowed outwardly inposition to engage with the side walls of the tank v2,

and are normally held in firm engagement with the wall of the tank 2 bysuitable means such, for example, as the coil springs 9. The coilsprings 9 are indicated as mounted between the sealing plates and theouter walls of the floating deck 3 with their inner ends supported byspring supportingplates 10 which, in turn, are pivotally supported asindicated at 11 by the inside sealing plates 4 near their upper ends.

The outside plates 5 are made straight in cross section whereas theinside plates 4 are indicated as having offset ends 12 so that theinside and outside sealing plates 4c and 5 may overlap while retainingtheir outer walls substantially flush. Around the offset ends 12 of theinside scaling plates 4 is provided packing means 13 for sealing theplates together and for retaining said packing means in position, thereis secured cleats 14 to the outside sealing plates 5, said cleats 14having offset ends 15 extending over the offset ends 12 of the insideand engaging the packing 13.

A deck provided with the seal in accord ance with the present inventionis adapted to positively prevent the escape of vapors between thesealing deck and wall of the tank 2. Moreover, the free ends of thesealing plates extending down into the liquid supportingthe deck causesthe liquid to assist in forming the seal and in lubricating the sealwhile it engages the tank wall. The sealing plates are yieldingly urgedoutward by the springs 9 which, in turn, are supported by the sealingplates and thus protected from being excessively worn.

Part of'the features of the seal of the present invention may beembodied in a simsealing plates ing plates 4 and 5 curve outwardly and.

downwardly to engage the side walls of the tank 2. The sealing platesare yieldingly urged outwardly by springs 9 which, in this embodiment oithe invention, have their inner ends supported by the floating deck 3and their outer ends engaging the rear sides of the sealing plates.

The outside sealing plates l are provided with oli'setends 15 while theinside sealing plates 5" are in turn provided with doublebacked ends 12which curve around the 05- set ends 15 oi the outside sealing plates at.\Vith this construction, the sealing plates 4 and 5 have their outersurfaces substan tially flush and have their ends interfitted as well asoverlapped to eiiieiently seal against escape of vapors from the oiltank.

While the particular forms of the invention herein described are welladapted to carry out the objects oi the invention, various modificationsmay be made without departing from the invention and the inventionincludes all such modifications and -ehanges as come within the scope ofthe 'cireular series of sealing plates surrounding and pivotally mountedon the deck, the sealing plates being adapted to swing outwardly intoengagement with the tank wall, springs normally urging said sealingplates into an outer position, andspring supporting bars engaging theinner ends of said springs, said. spring supporting bars being securedto said sealing plates at one end and depending therefrom the other endof the spring supporting bars engaging and supporting said springs.

2. A floating deck for oil tanks having a circular series of sealingplates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck, the sealing platesbeing adapted to pivot outwardly into engagement with a tank wall,spring means normally urging the plates outwardpacking between theoverlapping edges of the sealing plates, spring means normally urgingthe sealing plates outwardly, and spring supports supported by thesealing plates at one end and depending therefrom and having theopposite end supporting said spring means.

4:. A floating deck for an oil tank having a circular series of sealingplates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck and adapted toswing upwardly into engagement with the tank wall, part of said sealingplates having offset edges, the edges of adjacent sealing platesoverlapping, spring means normally urging the sealing plates outwardly,and spring supports pivotally supported by said sealing plates at theirupper ends and having their lower ends depending downwardly in contactwith the side wall of the floating deck at one side and at the oppositeside engaging and sup porting said spring means. i

5. A floating deck for an oil tank having a circular series of sealingplates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck and having theirfree ends extending downwardly into position to be immersed in a iluidsupporting the deck, spring means normally urging the plates outwardly,spring supports carried by the sealing plates, and packing means betweenadjacent edges of the sealing plates and disposed between the sealingplates and side walls of the oil tank, said spring means being disposedbe tween said spring supports and said sealing plates.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 16 day of September, 1926.

ALVAH M. GRIFFIN.

